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LaVacca Action Research Implementation TImeline and Summary - Year 2.docx

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When I was in middle school, one of my teachers called the entire class up to the front of the room. He held up a shiny golden disc in wild excitement.
"This will change education forever," he said, eyes gleaming. "Someday, you'll be able to pick up one of these discs and learn exactly what you need to learn. No more taking notes from a teacher. You won't have to learn from someone like me."

I felt uneasy about learning from a golden disc instead of a human. I liked my teacher. I liked how he would change his explanations on the spot just by reading our body language. I liked the way he made us laugh. I enjoyed the inefficient way he got off-topic and we randomly learned things that weren't in the textbook. Why would I want to replace him with a golden disc?

"This is the future of education, kids," he said with a grin. "This will change things forever."

But it did not change education forever. I haven't seen a laserdisc in three decades and I feel pretty confident that my own kids' teachers will not be replaced by golden discs. Not now. Not ever.

And yet, this is the same sentiment I have seen in many iterations. I've watched as one-to-one devices, laptops, and adaptive learning programs have all promised to replace teachers. In a few years, it'll be A.I. Just get a Siri-styled assistant who can answer every student question with absolute precision without the messy mistakes that a teacher might make. But I don't buy it. Teaching will always be a deeply relational endeavor filled with mistakes and missteps and false starts. That's the beauty of it.

Listen to the Podcast

If you enjoy this blog but you'd like to listen to it on the go, just click on the audio below or subscribe via iTunes/Apple Podcasts (ideal for iOS users) or Google Play and Stitcher (ideal for Android users).

https://spencerauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Vintage-Podcast.mp3

The False Promise of Futurism

It's true that our world is changing. The prevalence of social media means our students will grow up with a worldview shaped by algorithms as much as families or neighborhoods. Meanwhile, robotics and automation continue to replace manufacturing jobs. Rapid prototyping is now easier than ever and we're just beginning to see what can happen with automation and machine learning. Virtual reality is still in its infancy and we can't predict what it will mean for the way we perceive our world. Moreover, our students will enter a world where artificial intelligence will replace a significant number of analytical jobs. We can't predict what the future will hold with advanced robotics and nanotechnology.

In the face of these rapid changes, it's easy to think, "Let's prepare them for the future. Let's transform our schools into places that are cutting edge and new." Maybe add some high-tech makerspaces. Let's teach students how to use the 3D printer. Let's teach them how to use Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Let's teach every child to master coding.

But here's the counterintuitive truth: if we want to prepare our students for this future, we shouldn't focus on the solely future. As a teacher, I've seen the promise of interactive whiteboards, personalized learning programs, and one-to-one netbooks to revolutionize education. Years later, many of these gadgets are now obsolete.

But certain strategies will never be obsolete. Deep conversations. Meaningful collaboration. Epic projects. Creative thinking. Curiosity. These are the strategies that will help students become adaptable, nimble, and able to iterate. If they can think divergently and make connections between unrelated ideas, they'll actually anticipate change more quickly. This idea is at the heart of vintage innovation.
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What is vintage innovation?

Vintage innovation happens when we use old ideas and tools to transform the present. Think of it as a mash-up. It's not a rejection of new tools or new ideas. Instead, it's a reminder that sometimes the best way to move forward is to look backward. Like all innovation, vintage innovation is disruptive. But it's disruptive by pulling us out of present tense and into something more timeless.

Vintage Innovation is a both/and mindset. It's the overlap of the "tried and true" and the "never tried." It's a mash-up of cutting edge tech and old school tools. It's the overlap of timeless skills in new contexts. Vintage innovation is what happens when engineers use origami to design new spacecraft and robotics engineers are studying nature for innovative designs.

As a teacher, it's what happens when you do sketch-note videos mashing up hand-drawn sketches with digital tools or blend Socratic discussions with podcasting. It's that service-learning project that combines deeply human hands-on learning with photojournalism. It's the old idea of shared commonplace books to explore new ideas and research. It's a design project that includes duct tape and cardboard and sticky notes and markers but also digital modeling.

It's a reminder that innovation isn't about creating something new so much as relevant - and that relevance is often something disruptive. Sometimes relevance doesn't mean a deep dive into augmented reality or artificial intelligence. Sometimes it's a deep dive into a novel or a meandering philosophical discussion on what it means to be human. It's often in the analog that we find a different perspective. T.S. Eliot put it this way, "A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest."

Redefining Relevance

For years, Google focused on recruiting the best computer science students who excelled in their studies. They assumed that innovation required the students from the best universities. But when they tested this hypothesis with their Project Oxygen report (an inventory of what factors were the best predictors of employee success), they were shocked by the results. The top skills were the "soft skills," like being a problem-solver, being teachable, communicating effectively, having empathy, and making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. Notice that these aren't 21 st Century Skills. They're timeless skills. They're the skills hunter-gatherers needed and the skills we'll need in 300 years.

Instead of focusing on technology skills to compete with Artificial Intelligence or automation, students should develop soft skills. They need to develop deeply human mindsets and habits that will set them apart. This begins with the question, "What can humans do that machines can't do?"

The answer is oddly vintage. Artificial intelligence is amazing in its ability to determine patterns and follow algorithms, which is why students will need to take a more vintage approach and think divergently to solve complex problems in unique ways. Engineers will use 3D printing to make amazing products, but the best design will always start with empathy and is often inspired by studying nature. Moreover, some of the best creative approaches borrow from older disciplines.

Surrounded by a sea of information, students will need to learn the vintage art of curation. In a globalized world, students will need to embrace the local. With augmented reality and virtual reality at their fingertips, students will need to engage in play and imagination and curiosity. In other words, to be more relevant, they will need to be different.

This isn't meant to be nostalgic. There are certainly horrible things in the past that we don't want to repeat. However, in the ed-tech drive toward collective novelty, we often miss out on the classic and the vintage. Yet, in a world heavily shaped by technology, students who are able to embrace the vintage are often more innovative because they are different.

So, while sketch-notes are great, so are sketch-note videos. While hands-on simulations work well, students can then research the concepts using connected devices. A garden is valuable but students can video chat with an expert at a greenhouse. It's powerful to bring in World War II soldiers to talk face-to-face about their experiences. There's something amazing about the vintage element of human connection. And yet, it's also powerful to take that to the next level by filming a documentary and screening it at a theater (which my friend Trevor Muir did).

Core Questions of Vintage Innovation

With vintage innovation, teachers ask:

How do I innovate when I don't have the best technology?

How can I use vintage tools, ideas, and approaches in new ways?

How can I use constraints to spark creativity?

How do I blend together the "tried and true" with the "never tried?"

If you are a teacher, you are an innovator. You are the experimenter trying new strategies. You are the architect designing new learning opportunities. Apps change. Gadgets break. Technology grows obsolete. But one thing remains: teachers change the world. And one way to do this is through a vintage innovation approach.

Check Out the Book

This is the first in a series about vintage innovation. Parts of this blog post include excerpts from my upcoming book Vintage Innovation, which will be released in January. It will be a highly visual, engaging reading.

I'll also be releasing the free Vintage Innovation Toolbox sometime in mid-December. For early access to the toolbox and for updates about the book, please fill out the form below:

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When I was in middle school, one of my teachers called the entire class up to the front of the room. He held up a shiny golden disc in wild excitement. "This will change education forever," he said, eyes gleaming. "Someday, you'll be able to pick up one of these discs and learn exactly what you need to learn.

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McDermott - LEGO Gardening - Smart Start Grant Lesson Plan.docx

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Researched by Tajana and Izziana.

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Ryan Smart Start Grant Unit Lesson Plan .docx

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LaVacca Smart Start Grant Unit Lesson Plan Template.docx

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Building the future of horticulture, collaboration, & learning!

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Rigor, Relevance, Learning engagement, Relationships Rubrics

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Rigor, Relevance, Learning engagement, Relationships Rubrics

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All software used in the District, both free and subscription-based, are vetted for compliance with New York State Education Law 2d, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Children's Internet Protection Act. This is a "living" list that is updated regularly which shows the sites that have been deemed as approved for use in the District. A link to the Privacy Policy contains additional information specific to the company's policies. In addition, where appropriate, we have included supplemental information that further explains the protection of student and staff data.

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District Approved Software List and Supplemental Information

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All software used in the District, both free and subscription-based, are vetted for compliance with New York State Education Law 2d, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and the Children's Internet Protection Act. This is a "living" list that is updated regularly which shows the sites that have been deemed as approved for use in the District.

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McDermott - Getting Started with Padlet - Smart Start Grant Lesson Plan.docx

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McDermott - Action Research Implementation Timeline and Summary - Year 2.docx

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McDermott - Action Research Implementation TImeline and Summary - Year 2.docx

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1st graders learned how to use Padlet's camera feature with their iPads to upload their collaborative QFT posters to the digital garden while learning the importance of cybersecurity & protecting their identities online.

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After completing a QFT with different herbs and vegetables for our Tower Garden, students completed research based off of their most important questions.

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The 4th and 1st graders met up to complete a QFT. Each group had a different QFocus which was one of the herbs or vegetables we will be growing in our Tower Garden.

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Our first meet and greet with the 1st and 4th grade students!

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Our first meet and greet with the 1st and 4th grade students!

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4th grade students had their first opportunity to meet with their partners from 1st grade! 4th graders taught their partner how to draw a picture of the Grinch!

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MUST SEE VIDEO!

Read more here:
https://citejournal.org/volume-20/issue-1-20/general/the-picrat-model-for-technology-integration-in-teacher-preparation/

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PICRAT for Effective Technology Integration in Teaching

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Students having fun learning Padlet's features through play!

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By Kate Hurst

In our educational system, "play" is often seen in a negative light and is viewed as unproductive and meaningless activity for learning. However, it is an important element in the development of children's brains, according to experts in the area of child development. What do we mean when we talk about "play"? What makes an activity "play" as opposed to "work" or "learning"?

Play Is Developmental

Play is tied to cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Play is the vehicle for learning, especially in early development, but actually throughout our lives. Human play can be looked at a number of different ways. When we talk about social play, we speak of a process of moving from solitary play with objects, the body, and the environment, and expanding to parallel play, cooperative play, and collaborative play. When we think about symbolic play, we break it down into these categories: sensorimotor play, early and later pretend play, rule-based play, and strategy-based play. (To learn more about types of play visit Parallels Between Social & Symbolic Play and Playing with Words by Linda Hagood.)

Play Has Specific Characteristics

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, in their article, Five Essentials to Meaningful Play, there are five essential components of play:

Children make their own decisions.

Children are intrinsically motivated.

Children become immersed in the moment.

Play is spontaneous, not scripted.

Play is enjoyable.

Think back to your childhood for a moment and the way you played at different ages. Play for most of us is associated with something we want to do rather than something we have to do. Each of us chooses what we do in play and how we do it, based on our own preferences and skills. That is why baseball was not my idea of play when I was a kid growing up, but was for my sister. Play is something you can do alone or with someone, something that involves being active, something that totally captures your attention and gives you enjoyment.

Play is Learning
Play is the universal language of childhood. It is through play that children understand each other and make sense of the world around them. Play Scotland
We develop physical skills to use objects, climb, run, dance, and create things. We develop cognitive skills to figure out how things worked, to see similarities in objects that we use for pretend, and to problem-solve situations and organize activity. We use our sensory skills in play, and we become better able to express our individual creativity and experience of the world. Perhaps most importantly we develop important social and emotional skills as we face challenges, experience success and setbacks, and become more aware of our own self-identity. We also learn a lot of "content" through play such as reading, writing, speaking, math, science, and social studies.

Five Essentials of Play in Co-Creating Stories

When we use the word "play" in relation to co-creation of stories, it is important to keep in mind the five essential elements of play. This means we have to be willing to play along with our student.

Let the students make decisions on their own. Encourage them to think of the topic, the characters, the setting, and so forth. You may find the topic odd or challenging, but if you enter into the activity in a playful manner, you may be surprised what you learn about your student. Let the child take the lead in how the story will progress. This will help to ensure the intrinsic motivation they need to continue to grow the story. Use strategies like asking, "What happened next?" or cue the child to continue with "and then...".

See yourself as the playmate, not the instructor, during the process of co-creation. If you are having fun, it is likely the child will have fun. Become immersed in the activity along with the child. This might include the use of props and enacting parts (or all of) the story. Using songs, rhymes, chants, and movement can also help the child and you engage in the story. Be willing to be silly.

Make a general plan, but be willing to go along for the ride. Remember, play is spontaneous, not scripted. Play is enjoyable. If you make storytelling a task rather than something fun, you limit the child's own expression and take the fun out of the activity. While we hope that many cognitive and academic skills can be touched on during co-creation of stories, social and emotional skills are equally important. The child needs to be able to express his self-identity, discuss emotional issues, and feel success.

Helping a child to become a storyteller is giving a gift that helps him become more connected to others. It gives him the ability to make sense of complex situations and to organize events. Storytelling allows the child to share his experience of the world and the impact these experiences have on him. Sharing a story allows children to reveal parts of themselves in a way that reduces their vulnerability and lets them be brave with their truths.

Enter into the process of co-creation of stories with your student with a mindset of fun and joy. You may find that this activity becomes the highlight of your day.

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What Do We Mean by "Play"? - Paths to Literacy

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By Kate Hurst In our educational system, "play" is often seen in a negative light and is viewed as unproductive and meaningless activity for learning. However, it is an important element in the development of children's brains, according to experts in the area of child development.

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Keep it collaborative!

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In my school district we adopted the five learning beliefs from Education Reimagined to help drive our district vision: competency-based; personalized, relevant & contextualized; learner agency; socially embedded; open-walled.

In working with these five beliefs, we must (1) have a clear understanding of what they mean, and (2) be equipped with explicit strategies to make them a reality. Otherwise, a vision is not much more than words on paper.

That being said, here's the Education Reimagined definition of learner agency:

Learning that is characterized by learning agency recognizes learners as active participants in their own learning and engages them in the design of their experiences and the realization of their learning outcomes in ways appropriate for their developmental level. As such, learners have choice and voice in their educational experiences as they progress through competencies. Harnessing his or her own intrinsic motivation to learn, each learner strives to ultimately take full ownership of his or her own learning.

And, reflecting upon my work with inquiry-based learning and project based learning, here are five ways to promote student agency.
1. Create a Culture of Inquiry and Creativity
We start to create this culture on the very first day of school, but it's truly established as a result of the successes students experience throughout the year. In other words, we don't just "set it and forget it." The four subsequent points, as well as everything else that contributes to student agency, are all dependent upon culture. As Mike Kelly, Middle School Principal, says, "If we don't focus on school [or classroom] culture, we might as well not waste our time focusing on anything else."

Here are three ways to create a culture that lends itself to student agency:

Learn to let go: If students are to engage in productive struggle, we must possess the patience that allows for them to do so - patience (and scaffolding) that will vary based on student need. We should also be transparent with our students in regards to what we're trying to accomplish, so they view the struggle as part of the learning process.

Do not lock it and block it: If students are going to design and drive their own learning, they must possess the tools to do so. More specifically, they should (if possible) have access to a device with an Internet connection, YouTube, online research databases, content creation software/apps, and more.

Explicitly teach collaboration skills: Rather than putting students in groups and then getting angry with them when they don't get along (which I did on multiple occasions), explicitly teach collaboration skills by having students establish what effective collaboration should look like, sound like, and feel like.

2. Emphasize Relevance over Engagement
There's a fine line between trying to get students excited about our interests, and involving students in learning that is based on their interests. While the former can generate engagement (which is oftentimes short lived), the latter approach starts with the student s and prioritizes what makes each and every one of them unique. As a result, they are the designers of relevant learning experiences that tap into their intrinsic motivation.

As a fourth grade teacher (and a foodie), I had my students complete a restaurant review project that included each student going to a restaurant of his or her choice, taking notes throughout the dining process, and then systemically converting the notes to a professional looking review that was posted on a blog and sent out to the restaurant! The problem - I never once asked my students if they were foodies or if they were at all interested in writing about restaurants. Looking back, I could have (1) provided this project as one option alongside others, or (2) simply told my students the understandings I wanted them to demonstrate and then allowed for them to carve out their own paths.

It's easy to fall victim to spending an excess amount of time, meticulously planning units that focus on our interests or what we think/hope will grab student attention. We should spend more time giving our students a voice and then working backwards from what they have to say.
3. Share out Learning Targets
The understandings we want students to achieve as a result of a project or lesson could be shared with students (or uncovered by students through inquiry) in the form of learning targets to give them a clear picture of what they are supposed to learn. This approach is similar to what I did as a student teacher, when I was ordered to write the standard on the board prior to each lesson. However, standards are not the same as learning targets. Here are three tips to consider when converting the former to the latter:

If a standard calls for multiple independent actions (e.g., I can identify a dog. I can identify a cat.), split it up into multiple learning targets.

Make sure all learning targets are in student-friendly language.

To promote inquiry, present each learning target in the form of a question.

For a project based learning unit, students can analyze exemplars, found by them or the teacher, so they can see what each target looks like in the context of their current work.

If students know what they have to accomplish, they are more likely to take ownership of their learning. Of course, on the way to their goals they'll probably take their work in directions that include their passions and interests (which may not be encompassed by academic standards). Let them! The nurturing of students supersedes the covering of curriculum.

The nurturing of students supersedes the covering of curriculum. Click To Tweet
4. Facilitate Ongoing Feedback
As students work towards their understandings, what they need perhaps more than anything else is feedback. In short, feedback tells us (1) where we are, (2) where we need to go (the understandings), and (3) how to get there. And, in a learning space, feedback generally takes on three forms: teacher to student, student to student, and student to self. While all of these are likely to occur at one point or another, to promote student agency we should mostly be aiming for student to self. But, we need to create the conditions for this type of feedback to be the norm.

To assist with this process, Erin Murphy and I rethought the traditional rubric from the ground up when we created the Progress Assessment Tool (PAT). The PAT contains three columns: left, learning targets to be assessed; middle, what each target could look like within the context of the project (through the aforementioned analysis of exemplars); right, where feedback is provided in relation to each target. Of course, ideally, much of this feedback is student to self, but teachers and other students should be able to help. Either way, if we want the emphasis to be on the learning, ongoing feedback (in the absence of grades) is the answer.

(The PAT is detailed in Chapter 7 of Hacking Project Based Learning, a chapter that is available for free in the Hack Learning Anthology.)
5. Allow for Reflection and Publishing
We can facilitate additional self-feedback by organizing opportunities for students to reflect upon their work. One such opportunity could be time set aside for students to do nothing but analyze where they are in relation to the learning targets (without the burden of having to move forward with their project). We can further assist students by giving them reflective questions. Here are a few examples:

What additional questions do you have about this topic?

What strengths can you identify in your work?

What are you most proud of?

How could you improve your work?

What would you do differently next time?

These are prompts from which we can look to gradually release students as they get used to owning their learning.
In the End
Finally, reflection and publishing can go hand-in-hand, and publishing (through blogs, websites, videos, social media, etc.) shouldn't just take place once everything is done. After all, when was the last time you were in the middle of a significant project and didn't post about it in some way, shape, or form? Sharing our experiences publicly is now considered a social norm, hence it should also be happening in our schools. Not only does this publishing help students to obtain audience feedback from those inside and outside their learning space, it also gives them opportunities to promote their work, which can be tremendously self-motivating.

In Learning Transformed, Eric Sheninger and Tom Murray tell us, "Student agency must become the norm, not the exception." And, I couldn't agree with them more.

In looking at the definition of learner agency, this is exactly how we learn as adults, and it is our duty to blur the lines between our schools and the real world.
How else can we promote student agency?
Our students are now more aware than ever. They know whether or not they're getting the education they deserve. And they know when they're moving thousands of miles per hour outside our school walls, but forced to adapt to our comfort level s by moving at a snail's pace in our classrooms.

Connect with Ross on Twitter.

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5 Ways to Promote Student Agency - Cooper on Curriculum

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In my school district we adopted the five learning beliefs from Education Reimagined to help drive our district vision: competency-based; personalized, relevant & contextualized; learner agency; socially embedded; open-walled. In working with these five beliefs, we must (1) have a clear understanding of what they mean, and (2) be equipped with explicit strategies to make [...]

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Creation / publication based on the media continuum

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Read more here: https://maggieappleton.com/garden-history

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Let's have a look at these values in more detail in order to clarify what we mean when we talk about student agency.

Genuine decision making

Student agency is about having students take on some of the heavy lifting of learning. When students can have a genuine role in the decision-making process, this will create a classroom culture that values learning as an action. When I teach, I often ask myself, " Am I doing something my students could be doing themselves?" If the answer is yes, I de-centre myself so students can take on these responsibilities. The more I do this, the more comfortable and confident they become in taking on this agency over their learning. Learning becomes a partnership between the teacher and the student as we co-design and co-construct the learning experiences together in the classroom.

Knowing my strengths and stretches as a learner.

I often ask myself if my students know where they are at in their learning, where they need to go next, and if they can identify the steps they need to take to get there. Teachers can often answer these questions about each of our students, but can our students answer these questions for themselves? To help get these conversations started in class, I ask a series of guiding questions to help students reflect and begin to get to know themselves better as learners. For example, " Do you learn best alone, in a small group, or in a large class setting? Do you prefer to write, talk about or draw your learning for others to see? What is your focus threshold, as in, how long can you remain focused on something before you feel you need a change of pace, setting or action?" These questions all help students begin to take on more ownership over their learning.

Exploring my wonderings, curiosities and passions in school.

All students enter their schooling as curious and inquisitive beings. They are full of questions and wonder as they explore and discover the world around them. However, somewhere in their schooling, many become complacent, disengaged and uninterested in their learning and in school. What does our teaching do to support and honour the innate curiosity of all students? How do we lean into student wonderings to make rich connections to our curriculum? How can we make our curriculum come alive so students see it as something we explore rather than something we merely cover? These questions help honour the wonderings, curiosities and passions of all of our students so that they can see themselves as important stakeholders in their learning.

Having my questions shape my learning.

Questions are an invitation to learning. They call for us to be engaged, to be inquisitive and to research and problem-solve. In order to utilize this opportunity to create student agency, I often pose big, unGoogleable questions to frame our units of study in class that draw students in and will act as our overarching big idea for our learning. I make this question highly visible in class. I compose this question to be compelling, relevant and interesting with a hope that this one big unGoogleable question will spark wonder and curiosity in students to ask their own connected questions. We discuss the questions that students generate and begin to sort them into categories and themes before we post them in class under the larger unGoogleable question. They have a genuine voice in the design of the unit in that we will explore the questions they posed in our research and exploration together. Students begin to see how their questions shape their learning.

Having a genuine voice in assessment of my learning.

If we are talking about student agency in the classroom, we must ensure there is student voice in the assessment of learning as well. Students have a genuine voice in the assessment of their learning when they can confidently give accurate feedback to peers, take and apply feedback without worry of ridicule or embarrassment, and embark into learning through the lens of taking risks in order to grow, rather than for a grade, mark or percentage score. Students need to feel psychologically safe if we are to ask them to take on a more active and meaningful role in their learning, which is why as we nurture student agency in our classrooms, it's important that we also nurture relationships, trust and risk taking.

Showing and exploring my learning in different ways.

Whatever the big idea or content we are learning about, I often begin the school year with a new group of students by providing a choice board through which kids can explore content. A choice board is a digital slide that I have embedded resources into that allows students some options to select information in a means that they feel best supports their learning. I often introduce the exploratory nature of a choice board by asking students, "D o you enjoy taking in information by reading text, looking at images, infographics or charts, watching a short video, exploring a website, or listening to a podcast or someone talking about the information?" Once students have reflected on this prompt, they have a clearer understanding of what best supports their learning. When facing the options on a choice board, they make a decision based on their better understanding of their learning needs and strengths.

Further, I encourage students to document their learning-" evidencing," as we refer to it-in a manner that they decide. I always provide a few options in the form of thinking maps, thinking routines or templates to help anchor and organize their learning. After exploring these options and considering if any of them would support their learning, I encourage students to take ownership over this decision and select an evidencing method that works best for them. The power of this choice over showing and exploring their learning in different ways is seen in their success and engagement as well as the greater understanding of how I can best support each individual student that I gain. I observe and document their choices and pathways and then reflect on how I can help them with this agency and have them be continuously successful throughout the process.

Deciding how I want to share my learning.

I often ask my students, " If you could show me your learning in any way, how would you show me what you know?" My hope is to honour the diverse learners in the room whilst simultaneously leaning into student's strengths when it comes to agency. Inevitably students tell me the things they've always done in school. Similar to the list of items on a menu I referenced at the onset of this piece, I often observe that students don't reflect on this prompt with the depth, individuality or creativity I would hope the opportunity offers. That's why it's so important that I share with students any artifacts I have curated from other classes and previous years to help paint the picture of what is possible in their learning. I have these artifacts posted on my walls, on display on my shelves or saved as digital files so I can do a bit of a show-and-share and speak to how other students have shown their learning before them. The result is that students begin to see that in our classroom, they will have some voice and choice in how they show their learning and that they can really lean into their strengths and interests. This creates a start point in learning from a strength-based stance rather than a deficit-based position. Kids will choose things that they're good at, interested in exploring more meaningfully and are more genuinely engaged in. How cool is that?

Growing into the person I want to be.

What are the enduring skills, lasting values and habits of mind that will be the legacy of our time with children in our classrooms? How are we cultivating the conditions in today's classrooms that will nurture the empathy and equity we hope students embody as citizens of tomorrow's world? How do we view each and every one of our students as unique individuals with strengths, talents, characteristics and perspectives that we need to honour and help flourish during their time in school? It is within our active exploration of these questions and our validation of them in our interactions with students that will give space and support for them to grow in our classrooms. Student agency is not about pushing all kids down the same pathway or having all kids choose the same goal. Student agency is about empowering students to know themselves better, determine who they want to be and identifying steps we can take together to have this goal become a reality.

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How Can Teachers Nurture Meaningful Student Agency? - MindShift

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Student agency is about empowering students to know themselves better, determine who they want to be and identifying steps we can take together to have this goal become a reality.

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Great for student generated SEL check-in posts!

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Good health starts with good habits, like eating wholesome foods. Tower Garden systems let you easily grow your own fresh, nutrient-rich food without soil. The new Tower Garden HOME is ideal for indoor gardening, while the Tower Garden FLEX is slightly larger and can be used indoors or outdoors. Grow a healthier you year-round.

Support Your Healthy Lifestyle with Tower Garden

No green thumb? No problem. Our vertical, aeroponic garden systems allow you to grow your own produce without the learning curve or time commitment of traditional gardening. Grow greens and herbs indoors with Tower Garden HOME, or enjoy a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers with the Tower Garden FLEX. Each model takes up less than 5 square feet.

Tower Garden is the perfect school gardening system, allowing you to grow plants indoors without dirt. Plus, with more than 30 lesson plans and learning materials, it's easy to integrate this vertical garden into your curriculum.

Grow Up to 30% More Healthy Food, 3x Faster

Using aeroponics-the same technology NASA uses-Tower Garden grows plants with only water and nutrients rather than dirt. Research has found aeroponic systems grow plants three times faster and produce 30% greater yields on average. That means you'll be enjoying abundant, nutritious harvests just weeks after planting (or even earlier if you start with seedlings from one of our Certified Seedling Providers).

Get Nutrient-Loaded Produce
(without Loads of Work)

Pests, disease, weeds-traditional gardening can be complicated and time-consuming. But because Tower Garden automatically delivers water and nutrients when they're most needed, you're able to grow strong, healthy plants with minimal effort. And healthy plants can better protect themselves from pests and diseases naturally, without pesticides. Plus, you don't have to deal with weeds (or getting dirty) because there's no soil.

Live Well While Conserving Water and Space

Want a garden but don't have the space or the ideal outdoor growing conditions? Tower Garden has a vertical, compact design and closed-loop system technology, so it requires as little as 10% of the space and water you'd use with traditional growing. And our new Tower Garden HOME lets you grow greens and herbs indoors, year-round. So you can grow your own healthy food - in a way that's also healthier for the environment.

Tower Garden Reviews

"I have harvested [so] much lettuce and parsley that I donate to the meals-on-wheels program in town"

Jack

"We enjoyed cucumbers all season, giving away many to friends and neighbors"

Karl

"Our Tower Garden thrives-even in the brutal Texas summers! It is growing like
crazy...and it's so easy to maintain."

Mary

Choose Your Own Growing Adventure

A Happy, Healthy Family

Have a hungry clan to feed? With a Family Garden, you can grow up to 84 plants at once - and put more wholesome produce on the dinner table.
Grow a Family Garden

An Engaged Community

An integrated growing system of 12 Tower Gardens, the Community Garden is perfect for schools, restaurants, nonprofits, and other community applications.
Grow a Community Garden

A Sustainable Business

With Tower Farms, forward-thinking farmers make a living while making a difference. Are you ready to grow a greater future (and a healthy profit)?
Grow a Tower Farm

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Grow Your Own Fresh Food Year-Round | Tower Garden

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Good health starts with good habits, like eating wholesome foods. Tower Garden systems let you easily grow your own fresh, nutrient-rich food without soil. The new Tower Garden HOME is ideal for indoor gardening, while the Tower Garden FLEX is slightly larger and can be used indoors or outdoors.

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Harnessing aeroponic growing technology, Tower Garden offers a cleaner, simpler, more efficient way to grow fresh, healthy food for your family.

Intro to Aeroponics:

Grow 30% More, 3x Faster, with 98% Less Water

An advanced form of hydroponics, aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment rather than soil. Aeroponic systems use water, liquid nutrients and a soilless growing medium to quickly and efficiently grow more colorful, tastier, better smelling and incredibly nutritious produce.

Research found that - compared to traditional growing methods - aeroponic technology:

Tower Garden will arrive at your doorstep with seeds, nutrients, supplies-everything you need to get growing. After about 20-25 minutes of minimal setup, here's how your Tower Garden will function.

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Join our Email Newsletter to stay connected with Juice Plus+.

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Discover Aeroponic Gardening | Tower Garden

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Harnessing aeroponic growing technology, Tower Garden offers a cleaner, simpler, more efficient way to grow fresh, healthy food for your family. Intro to Aeroponics: An advanced form of hydroponics, aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment rather than soil.

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How does aeroponic gardening and peer collaboration affect school culture?

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With these free, CCSS- and NGSS-aligned lesson plans and learning materials in PDF format, you can use Tower Garden to teach students about a variety of subjects, including science, math, literacy, and, of course, healthy eating!

Hand-pollinating the class cucumbers? Supplying the cafeteria with fresh salad? We'd love to see how you're using Tower Garden at your school!

BROWSE THE BUZZ

See who's talking about Tower Garden

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Lesson Plans for School Tower Gardens - Free Educator Resources

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With these free, CCSS- and NGSS-aligned lesson plans and learning materials in PDF format, you can use Tower Garden to teach students about a variety of subjects, including science, math, literacy, and, of course, healthy eating! Hand-pollinating the class cucumbers? Supplying the cafeteria with fresh salad?

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How can technology support student agency?

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Sanford Harmony Academy provides educators with professional learning and curriculum resources that support healthy relationships.

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Make a copy to use!

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Action Research Implementation TImeline and Summary - Year 2.docx

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Make a copy to use!

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Smart Start Grant Unit Lesson Plan Template.docx

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There are few things as fundamental as literacy in early childhood education. Discovering ways to increase literacy without teaching literacy, though, is a relatively new concept.

Across the United States, end of grade scores indicate that elementary and middle school students struggle with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related subjects. Furthermore, these students are also lacking 21st century skills (critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication). So, what can be done to solve these challenges?

The primary focus of STEM education in the United States over the last decade has been job-readiness skills - building a deeper bench of technically-minded thinkers and doers for the future. But creating strong foundational elements in both literacy and STEM-related subject matter has become increasingly important at every level. By introducing STEM into early literacy lessons, students have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of technical subjects, while increasing their ability to communicate, think critically, and design with empathy.

Literacy in the 21st Century

Literacy has traditionally been characterized as the ability to read and write, but today, literacy is more than the sum of its parts. It's about communicating, collaborating, and connecting - the skills needed to drive today's successful workforce. And until recently, STEM coursework has been focused more on the technology, and less on the problem it's designed to solve. When it comes to STEM education, many think of students building robots and designing cars, but by integrating STEM and literacy into the early childhood curriculum, students can think beyond building a robot, and develop a deeper understanding of how these skills can be employed across subject matters, careers, and elsewhere in the real world. This presents the concept of teaching literacy without teaching literacy. By implementing literacy practice through STEM education, educators are guiding their students to develop STEM-literacy competencies.

So, what can artificial intelligence help us achieve as a society, and how can a solar farm increase quality of life for a community? The ability to answer questions like these are critical for a future-ready student, one who possesses the 21st century skills necessary for a variety of jobs, both in and out of STEM fields. These skills are essential for student success in the classroom and more importantly, in the real world. Creating opportunities for students to ask questions, talk through challenges, and see the 'why' allows them to understand how they can apply these skills and systems beyond the classroom. That's where literacy comes in.

But How?

The first step to successfully introducing STEM into a literacy framework is through teacher preparation, professional development, and consistent coaching. We don't need to throw the literacy book away and start from scratch, but we do need to think about our methods a bit differently.

Like we've seen with Project-Based Learning (PBL), creating opportunities for teachers to incorporate small elements of new ideas into their lessons can pay off like compound interest. As confidence builds among teachers, media coordinators, coaches, and school leaders, STEM-related subject matter integration can occur more organically. This happens when policy, planning, coaching, and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) work together to improve student outcomes.

With a deep bank of expertise in literacy, and a variety of resources and subject matter experts in STEM fields, RTI International's (RTI) professional development programs are designed to create diverse experiences for teachers to engage in explorations, dialogue, and planning to explore the intersections of literacy and STEM practices. Through text-rich STEM experiences, teachers consider practices that promote in depth STEM and literacy learning. Professional development often features simulated student experiences where teachers engage in and experience a lesson through a student lens to see how STEM and literacy practices can be integrated to create a meaningful and relevant learning experience for students. Additionally, professional development provides opportunities for teachers to engage in diverse expert interviews, career panels, and visits with industry partners. This provides a space for teachers to network and explore opportunities for students to participate in similar experiences that will allow them to see themselves in STEM careers.

Earlier this year, RTI held a virtual Building Literacy through STEM workshop. The two-day professional development event brought together teachers, media specialists, and STEM coaches alike to engage in text-rich STEM experiences. These sessions allowed participants to consider practices that would promote deep STEM and literacy learning and included exercises such as:

simulated student experiences

collaborative idea boards

design challenges

academic language in classroom discourse

reverse engineering

supported planning

Participants walked away with a better understanding of the value of integrating literacy and STEM, how to evaluate instructional practices that promote literacy learning in STEM, and how to collaborate to design STEM instruction while including deep literacy practices.

One great example of STEM-literacy integration includes using science trade books and biographies to support design thinking. By using biographies and trade books as mentor texts, students reverse-engineer the design-thinking process used by other inventors in order to find new and innovative ways to improve the human condition. Another example is using the engineering design process to design a product to improve the experience for a character in a children's book, such as designing a house to withstand the "big bad wolf" or creating an indestructible chair for Goldilocks. To accomplish this, students must think deeply about the characters, setting, and plot of the story to inform their design. STEM-literacy integration can also include creating opportunities for students to (1) use coding, video games, or other more technical methods to retell or develop stories, or (2) use materials, such as Legos®, to build scenes from a story to highlight plot points. By implementing practices such as these, students develop the ability to design and communicate solutions to real world problems with confidence and thoughtfulness.

Helping educators to implement literacy through STEM is an effective practice to teach literacy without teaching literacy. And if we think of it as a universal thread that ties all subject matters together, we can further weave it across the curriculum and develop students who are better prepared for careers and life. For questions related to STEM and early literacy or to learn more about how we can help you implement this practice into your classroom, contact us at educationservices@rti.org.

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There are few things as fundamental as literacy in early childhood education. Discovering ways to increase literacy without teaching literacy, though, is a relatively new concept. Across the United States, end of grade scores indicate that elementary and middle school students struggle with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related subjects.